Health survey of numbness/pain and its associated factors in Kotohira, Japan

Abstract

We conducted a survey of adults in Kotohira, a town of about 10,000 people located in the Nakatado District of Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. The survey was distributed to 8184 individuals, and effective responses were received from 3863 persons (response rate, 47.2%) during the survey period. Results regarding numbness and pain showed numbness alone in 7.7%, pain alone in 7.2%, both numbness and pain in 6.0%, and neither numbness nor pain in 79.6%. Spine and spinal cord damage was reported present by 5.4%, and absent by 94.6%. Analysis using the Short-Form Health Survey questionnaire, with comparison between subjects reporting both numbness and pain in the extremities and subjects with either numbness or pain alone, showed lower scores for in Short-Form Health Survey subscales (physical functioning, role [physical, emotional], bodily pain, vitality, and mental health). Subjects with numbness alone generally reported no disability in daily life. In a secondary survey, analysis of neurological findings by specialists identified 6 cases of "pain following spinal cord damage" in which spinal cord-related pain developed in the hands or feet. This represented 0.15% of the survey population starting from the primary survey.

Figure 1. A flow diagram showing an outline of the study.

Figure 2. SF-36 subscale scores with presence or absence of numbness or pain.

In the group with both numbness and pain, scores were significantly decreased as compared to the group with neither. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001.

Figure 3. SF-36 subscale scores for presence or absence of spine/spinal cord-related disorder and diabetes.

Diagnosed with spine/spinal cord-disorder (SP+), with diabetes (DM+), positive for numbness or pain (symptom +). Among individuals diagnosed with diabetes and spinal disease, health status was lower in the group with numbness or pain as compared to the group with neither. This trend was strong in those diagnosed with spine/spinal cord disorder. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001.